A concern for food and drug manufacturers is maintaining the sterility of package contents from failing during transport and storage until patient use. Historically, glass has been used as the preferred material for packaging pharmaceuticals because of its hermeticity, optical clarity and excellent chemical durability relative to other materials. However, use of glass for such applications is limited by the mechanical performance of the glass. While glass containers are superior to many alternative materials, they are not unbreakable and occasionally experience damage from handling and transport. Specifically, in the pharmaceutical industry, glass breakage is a safety concern for the end user as the broken package and/or the contents of the package may injure the end user. Cracks that extend through the wall thickness may form, compromising sterility of the pharmaceutical contents but not leading to catastrophic failure of the package. Such cracks may result in recalls when detected by a health care professional or end consumer at the point of use, and can be costly to the pharmaceutical manufacturer.